Vagabond
by Foxtrot0220
Summary: AU set in a medieval kingdom where Homura, once the princess' personal bodyguard, now works as a lowly hired soldier delegated to deal with the kingdom's endless problems. Luckily for her, she's been assigned a new subordinate. Little does she know however that petty food-thief Sakura Kyouko is just itching for some adventure...


Vagabond

* * *

Homura hated the heat.

It didn't help that today was supposed to be the hottest day ever recorded in the kingdom's recent history. With no clouds to blanket the sky, the sun glared down on the cobblestone houses and dusty earth, sending the townscape into hazy shimmers of heat waves. Even the animals being herded off into the market square looked sluggishly reluctant. And for good reason. Apparently there was some sort of festival going on tomorrow with plenty of food and drink for everyone. Homura wasn't one to willingly participate, though...

For the hundredth time today, Homura absentmindedly fiddled with the leather strap of her satchel, adjusting the heavy and uncomfortable burden to evenly distribute the weight. Again, her hair had gotten in the way. Annoyed, she tried to brush away her long, jet-black hair, frowning at the amount of dust that had collected in it. It was difficult to look inconspicuous when she was literally the only one in the kingdom with hair of her color and length, much less consider all the inconveniences that came along with it. Even if it was the only reminder she had of her mother, it also got in the way of fighting. As Homura continued waiting, she wondered if cutting her hair short would help her bear the heat...

Another ten minutes crawled by, if the sundial in the town square could be trusted. Homura watched the passing townsfolk with guarded interest, and dug her foot into the dusty ground for each one she suspected was an official in disguise. The only reason that kept her waiting outside in this unbearable heat was the threat that if she failed her job, she'd be immediately sent to work in the fields: a fourteen hour back-breaking work day in the sweltering heat with minimal pay. Her superiors were not the most forgiving people.

If there was one thing that Homura had learned as a hired soldier of the kingdom, it was to never question orders. No matter what they were. She knew very well that her superiors were keying on her every move, just waiting for the excuse to send her away. Unfortunately for them, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. She might hate the heat, but she hated losing to those loudmouthed pigs too.

So instead, Homura clutched her issued stack of files close to her chest and pored over the contents, occupying herself in the meantime. She read through several summaries of her missions, some of it dealing with the insurgents and populist uprisings, others with military installations and new technology, all of it rigidly laid out for her in Times New Roman newsprint. She skimmed over detailed reports of casualties against the wild beasts of the forest, and grimaced. If she was lucky, she wouldn't get sent there.

"Make way for the princess!"

Homura's ears perked up to the sound of shouting coming from the large main gate. She was standing close enough to the town square to see everything, but far away enough to be lingering just beyond the edge of the crowd to avoid the initial rush of people. From her vantage point, Homura could see the newly appointed personal bodyguard of the princess, a girl by the name of Miki Sayaka, clumsily gesturing with her sword to clear a path through the crowd. Despite the heat, she was wearing an armored chest piece and a thick cape, and even looked proud to be publicly distinguished. And if _she _was there, then...

Homura's eyes caught sight of that familiar pink hair bobbing through the congregating crowd. People all around watched in awe as Kaname Madoka daintily walked through the dusty path, giving onlookers the occasional cheerful smile and shy wave. Sayaka pressed ahead, warily shooting glances into the crowd to deter anyone from approaching too close. Behind the two of them strode Madoka's personal teacher and the captain of the guard, Tomoe Mami. The golden-garbed young woman had a nobility-like aura to her, more than the childishly innocent Madoka, and definitely much more than the slightly wild and reckless Miki Sayaka. She was smiling as well, but there was a subtle glint in her eyes as she scanned the crowd for any potential threats. Homura tried to avoid meeting her gaze, even if she was more than fifty meters away and nothing but a speck in the crowd.

Madoka looked like she was having a great time, but it was easy to tell that her two companions didn't share her sentiment, keeping their walking pace to a determined stride. Homura just sighed, watching the odd spectacle play out in the town courtyard. It was highly unusual to see someone of nobility walking around outside among the commoners, but the princess kept insisting that she wanted to get along with the townsfolk, much to the queen's dismay.

There was a time when Homura had been in Sayaka's position, but that was before she had been sentenced to grunt work-

"Yo." A face popped up in front of Homura, blocking her view.

To the newcomer's credit, or more accurately, the enchanting charm of Madoka that held Homura's attention captive, Homura hadn't heard her coming. Homura raised an eyebrow. Usually she was the one that found people, not the other way around. But she was dressed in a white and purple-dyed leather tunic and black leggings, customary for hired soldiers. It wouldn't have been hard to spot her among the other raggedly dressed townspeople.

Homura surveyed the girl in front of her, ignoring the wide, sly grin and sharp evaluating gaze tracing lines across her own face. Sakura Kyouko. She had good physical instincts, but wasn't too bright. She'd been previously kicked out of knight school for fighting against a superior. A poor choice, but Homura took note of the fact that she had managed to subdue the much larger sergeant before being restrained by five other officers. Kyouko was an independent hothead, with a tendency to never take things seriously and an infamous appetite, if her recent record of pillaging the shops of angry grocers was any indication. Not the best companion, all things considered. But Kyouko was just as bad Homura was, according to the people in charge. Here in this kingdom, nothing went unpunished.

Homura returned her gaze to the town courtyard, but Madoka and her small crew had already disappeared around the next corner. Now there was nothing to distract her attention from the situation at hand.

"So, who are you?" Kyouko asked, once she realized that Homura wasn't the talking type.

Homura briefly took in the strange dissonance between Kyouko's dangerous track record and the lazy grin stretched across her face. "I could ask you the same."

Kyouko shrugged. "You could, but I beat you to it, sooo…"

Homura felt her eyebrows twitch. Was it just the heat that was beginning to annoy her again? "Akemi Homura." She finally and briefly muttered.

"Oh. I'm-"

"You're _late_." Homura quickly interrupted, locking Kyouko with a stern glare in the hopes that it would install some punctuality into her next time.

"_Fashionably_ late." Kyouko corrected with a sly smirk, her scarlet eyes never once leaving Homura's face as if telling her that it was a lost cause.

Homura frowned. She knew what she was getting into when her superiors had 'graciously' decided to pair her up with someone else to tackle the more difficult problems around the kingdom. It was a given that there was going to be something twisted about them. What Homura didn't expect was the smug and insufferable personality to go along with it. "Too bad style points don't help you in prison." She quietly muttered.

Kyouko pretended to stagger backwards, placing her hands over her heart. "Ouch, that was low! But hey, I guess that means you know something about me. I'm-"

"Sakura Kyouko, I know. Save your breath." Homura unfolded her arms and propped herself off of the stone wall, shouldering her satchel again. To her dismay, Kyouko looked slightly proud that she was so well-known.

"Oh, so you know then. Pleased to meet'cha!" Kyouko held out a hand to shake and another grin to go along with it, but Homura didn't bother reciprocating. Instead, she looked over her files once more before stuffing them into her bag.

"I swear you look familiar..." Kyouko mused as Homura focused on arranging her gear. Then, her face lit up. "Oh, I know! You're that former knight that tried to elope with the princess- _mmmph_!"

Suddenly, one of Homura's hand clamped over Kyouko's mouth with the other secured around the base of her neck. Her eyes were dangerously lasering holes into Kyouko's face. Kyouko didn't even have time to react to Homura's movements. As Kyouko tried to uselessly struggle from the death grip, Homura dropped her voice to a controlled, yet menacing whisper. "Say that out loud again, and I'll send you back to the fields."

Kyouko fell silent at the threat.

"Nod if you understand me."

Kyouko nodded.

Satisfied, Homura released her as Kyouko drew in a breath, glad that she had escaped with only a warning. But once Kyouko realized that she was safe again, she continued with the questions:

"What happened to you anyways? Weren't you like the best knight and the top of your class last year? And you threw all that away for a hopelessly naïve, clumsy-looking girl- Ow!" Kyouko exclaimed as Homura punched her in the shoulder. She gingerly rubbed the sore spot, shooting Homura a pained look. "That hurt!"

"It's meant to." Homura shot Kyouko another stern glare. "Do you want to work in the fields that badly?"

Kyouko shook her head as her lips twisted into a grimace. It was clear that she knew about the full consequences of that punishment from experience. Either that, or she was born into poverty in the first place. "Nah, I'd rather not. It's just all work. Plus, we don't even get to eat the food we harvest."

"Then shut up."

Kyouko mock-saluted. "Yes ma'am!"

"And don't do that either."

"Sorry." Kyouko grinned again, as if beginning to like Homura more and more. Homura just hoped that she'd somehow manage to coexist with this bothersome new girl. "But you used to be the best knight in the kingdom, didn't you? Doesn't that mean you're really awesome at fighting?"

"Well..." Homura pretended to think it over, even though she already knew her answer. "I suppose."

"Wanna show me?"

Homura was only too eager to, and she didn't waste time demonstrating. At the very least, it would gain Kyouko's respect. She pointed across the town square at a deserted storefront. "See that wooden post over there?"

Kyouko followed her gaze and nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

In one fluid motion, Homura drew her throwing knife and let it fly from her fingers. The blade sang through the stale air, spinning expertly until it lodged in the thin wood fifty meters away. Homura surveyed the target. A couple of millimeters left and one too high, but all-in-all, not a bad throw.

Kyouko whistled through her teeth, her face betraying her growing admiration in her new superior. She looked impressed for a moment. "I see you haven't lost a step since then."

"I'd like to think so too." Homura agreed. Kyouko's reaction didn't surprise her. She had gotten used to the admiration of her peers over the years. She tended to have that effect on people, after all.

"So," Kyouko said once Homura had retrieved her knife. "What are we supposed to do anyways?"

Homura gave her a questioning look. It wasn't out of the question that her superiors had told Kyouko next to nothing. More likely than not, they just wanted to get rid of her and dump her onto someone else. Which happened to be Homura. "You mean you don't know?"

"Yeah, like..." Kyouko's eyes narrowed dangerously as her voice grew softer. "Are we gonna capture the princess?"

Homura arched an eyebrow, betraying no emotion despite Kyouko's daring grin. "Don't be ridiculous. We have a job to complete."

"Ehh? And here I thought from all of the rumors that you liked the princess-!"

"Fields."

"Sorry, sorry." Kyouko innocently held up her hands to show that she didn't mean any harm.

Homura sighed, wondering how many times she had done that in the last five minutes. An idea crossed her mind. "I was thinking that our new relationship needs some guidelines."

Kyouko looked up in surprise. "Huh? Guidelines?"

Ignoring her, Homura continued and held up a finger. "Rule number one-"

Kyouko squinted. "Rules? What rules?"

"They're from the 'how-not-to-piss-off-Akemi-sama' guidebook." Homura explained, locking Kyouko with a serious look. "It'll be in your best interest to take note."

"Oh." To her credit, Kyouko paid attention; probably more than she had ever done back in knight school.

"Rule number one: don't ever question anything I say."

Kyouko saluted, still sporting her crooked grin. "Yes ma'am! Sakura Kyouko at your service, ma'am! As long as you feed me, of course!"

Homura rolled her eyes, mentally redistributing the amount of rations they were carrying. From what she'd seen so far, it was possible that they'd have to restock on food more often than she had predicted. "There's been a lot of trouble outside of the kingdom lately, and not enough people willing to take on these jobs. I suppose you'll have to do for now…"

"Yeah, ohh, shi-!" Kyouko's face went taut as she ducked behind a nearby sign.

Homura simply frowned at her, confused at the sudden action. "What are you doing?"

"I'm… uh," Kyouko lingered behind the sign, until she eventually worked up the courage to stand next to Homura again. "Damn. Well, okay, so here's the thing – I'm in a bit of trouble with the law."

"Okay." Homura nodded slowly, waiting for the catch. "But I already knew that. That's why you're in this position in the first place."

Kyouko shook her head. "No, but see, _they _promised that they'd clear my track record if I did this thing with you. Unfortunately for me, some store owners aren't too happy about the whole 'forgive-and-forget' deal. So they're essentially still out to get me."

Homura sighed, wishing that she could just leave this helpless girl right here and be on her merry way. That is, until curiosity got the better of her logic and reason, and she decided to give her a second chance. No point in complaining about her partner now anyways. To compensate, Homura hefted her satchel onto Kyouko's waiting hands, as the latter groaned under the weight.

"I'm not a pack-horse." Kyouko grumbled.

"No, you're not," Homura wistfully agreed. "But you'll have to do for now."

It was a long journey to the Northern outskirts of the kingdom, where their first task lay. Homura just hoped that most of it wouldn't be filled with small talk, and so far, neither of them really showed any interest in asking too many questions. So far.

Kyouko nudged Homura in the side with her elbow. "So I guess it's just us two, huh?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

That made her smile. And looking at her now, Homura had to admit that Kyouko had an infectious grin.

"How about we talk some more over dinner tonight?" Kyouko asked, walking in front of Homura. There was a unique lightness to her steps and a length to her stride that made Homura hurry to catch up, rather than vice-versa. Kyouko tossed a look over her shoulder, her ruby eyes darting to meet Homura's lavender ones. "_Your_ treat, of course."

Homura sighed again, hoping that it wouldn't become a future habit. "Since when do I have to treat you?"

"Well, if _I _had any money, I wouldn't be here in the first place."

Her logic was sound. Homura didn't offer a reply.

"I know a place that has the best pork chops in this part of the kingdom," Kyouko added, unable to keep the eager tone out of her voice. "It's the best thing to eat when it's this hot outside. How about it?"

Homura gave Kyouko a look, taking in the mixture of childish excitement and daring adventurousness painted across her face, and decided that pork chops sounded pretty excellent, actually.

* * *

A/N: _Just a random idea that popped into my mind, inspired while I was playing Assassin's Creed. __This is unlikely to be continued. It's really just more practice for me at writing._


End file.
